Hammer toy



Nov. 2l, 1950 J, MORRlsON 2,530,898

HAMMER `ToY 2 vSheets-Sheet 1 Filed June l, 1950 HH:l Illia:

Nov. 2l, 1950 J. MORRISON 2,530,898

HAMMER TOY Filed June 1, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Nov. 21, 1950 .lohn Morrison, Franconia, N. H.

Application J une 1, 1950, Serial No. 165,549

Claims.

The present invention relates to a hammer toy so constructed as to aord a high degree of entertainment, novelty and mystery to the youthful user thereof and at the same time to function as an educational toy teaching Ymanual dexterity, coordination, and simple reasoning.

Hammer toys serve a very useful function in the training and amusement of young children. They not only provide a non-destructiveoutlet for their energies but they also teach manual dexterity and coordination. In their most common form a series of ypegs or other members are adapted to be driven through apertures in a platform. In some embodiments once the pegs have been hammered through the apertures as far as they can go the apparatus is linverted so as to 'once again present the pegs for hammering. In other embodiments `the pegs or other members are adapted to be driven completely through the apertures after which they `are picked up and reinserted in the apertures. The latter type ,of toy has the advantage over the lformer that the youthful user acquires increased coordination and ldexterity by picking up the peg and inserting it into the aperture prior to hammering it. -HOW- ever, these types of toys, despite their admitted educational value, are soon discarded by their user primarily because of the monotony of the .operations involved. Their educational value is also limited by reason of the simplicity of their manner of use. Y

The toy of the present invention embodies all of the educational `attributes lof conientional hammer toys and in addition has elements of mystery and complexity which not only Whet the interest of the users thereof, thus leading to greater use and hence greater acquisition of coordination and manual dexterity, but also teach a fundamental. type of reasoning, the correlation of simple cause and eiect, of which `even very young children are capable.

In the toy of the present invention members are provided which are adapted to be hammered through apertures, thus training the child in coordination and manual dexterity in a manner similar to other Vhammer toys. yThis invention departs from previous similar constructions in that; said members are rollable, and are preferably fin the form of spherical ballasad members disappearing inside Yan enclosure Vafter they have been hammered through an aperture and then, after an interval of time, reappearing -from the enclosure Lat a different point from that through which they have :b eenhammered. When they reoppearithey 'are lcaused to V'roll along a hxe 111.1;

clined path and, in .one specific embodiment of the invention, are adapted to be retained onv that path so as to be accessible for reuse, the child .picking up the ball, replacing it in one of the apertures, and again hammering. The period of ltime during which the ball is invisible and the'act that it becomes visible at a different point from that at which it became invisible is a source of constant fascination to young children, and `hence they will tend to play with this toy for `longer periods of time than with other toys Vof the same general type.

The bail or other rollable member, after `it has been ,driven through the aperture, rolls down a series of inclined planes and its passage `therealong in response to the force of gravity is educational in and of itself. "Consequently, the toy is of utility even if the ball or other rollable member does not become invisible after it is hammered through the aperture.

ln a more speciic form of the present invention, a plurality of apertures are provided through which the ball or other rollable member may be hammered, those apertures being diierently spaced from the point at which the ball again becomes visible.- As a result, the interval of time between the instant when the ball is hammered through the aperture to become invisible and the instant when it reappearswill vary depending upon the particular aperture through which it has been hammered. The interest of the child is piqued by this, and hence he not ,only plays with the toy more than he otherwise would, but he also eventually will come to `correlate a particular time duration of invisibility vvith the particular aperture employed, thus giving him training in an elementary form of reasoning.

In accordance with a specific aspect of the present invention, the rollable members employed are in Y the torni of rubber balls which 4kare soit ,and resilient. The results of using such rollable members are manifold. The balls themselves are harmless and even thrown wildly by the child (a not uncommon occurence) they vvill'cause no harm or damage. The resilience of the balls -permits them to be driven through hthe apertures relatively easily, thus calling for a minimum of .eiiort on the part of the chi-,ld and permitting the yuse of a very light hammer. Hence the toy .can ybe used 'by very young children. Moreoyer, but a minimum of noise accompanies use of the toy, thus .saving the nerves of parents and ,Illirses. Providing a `light hammer has v,the additional ad- 3 vantage that a child armed with it cannot do any appreciable damage to his surroundings.

The above objects are accomplished by providing an enclosure at the top of which is positioned the apertures through which the rollable members are to be hammered. Below these apertures and inside the enclosure is an inclined support onto which the rollable members are adapted to drop and along which they are adapted to roll. This support communicates with a relatively large aperture in one of the walls of the enclosure, the rollable member being freely passable through that aperture and rolling therethrough in response to the inclination of the partition. In the specific form here disclosed a ramp is provided on the outside of the enclosure with which the relatively large aperture communicates, the rollable member emerging from the enclosure via the large aperture and then rolling down the ramp.

To the accomplishment of the above objects, and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the construction of a hammer toy as defined in the appended claims and as described in this specification taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a three quarter perspective view of one embodiment of the present invention with a part of the side wall thereof broken away;

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional View thereof taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detailed cross-sectional view of the top wall of the toy showing the manner in which a rubber ball is adapted to be driven therethrough;

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the toy taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view thereof taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is a three quarter perspective view similar to Fig. l but showing a modied embodiment.

The toy comprises an enclosure generally designated 2 having a top wall 4 with a row of apertures 6 of limited size therethrough. Rollable members, here shown in the form of rubber balls 8, are adapted to pass through those apertures 6, the balls 8 having a normal size somewhat larger than the size of the apertures 6 so that they can pass through those apertures 6 only upon the application of force thereto, preferably through repeated blows by the hammer 9.

The enclosure 2 is provided with a pair of end walls IIJ and I2 to which the top wall 4 is secured by means of nails I4 or other similar securing devices. Side walls I6 and I8 extend beneath the top wall 4 and alongside the side edges of the end walls I0 and I2, A metal frame defines a bottom wall 28 closing the bottom of the enclosure, its ends being bent upwardly to form panels 22 and 24 covering the outside of the end wall I0 and I2 respectively and the end edges of the side walls I6 and I 8, the panels 22 and 24 terminating in inbent lips 26 and 2B interposed between the tops of the end walls Il] and I2 and the lower surface of the top Wall 4. The side edges of the metal frame, as generally designated by the reference numeral 36, are bent around the outside of the walls of the enclosure, and the bottom wall is provided with a plurality of upstruck lips 32 (see Fig. 2) for engaging the inner surfaces of the walls, thus deiining a self-sustaining and rigid structure. For purposes of strength the top wall 4 and end walls I0 and I2 may be of wood, while the side walls 4 I6 and I8 may, if desired, be of berboard or other composition material.

Two opposite walls, here shown as the end walls I and I2, are provided with inclined grooves 34 and 36 respectively (see Figs. 2 and 4), both said grooves being inclined downwardly in the same direction, the groove 34 being higher than the groove 36. A partition 38 of wood, berboard, or other structural material is mounted within the grooves 34 and 36 and as a result said partition 38 will be inclined downwardly toward the end wall I2, that wall having the lower slot 36, and will also be inclined downwardly toward the side wall I6, since both slots 34 and 36 are downwardly inclined toward that wall.

The side wall I6 is provided with a relatively large aperture 40 of a size such that the ball or other rollable element 8 can freely pass therethrough. This aperture is positioned adjacent the lowest point of the partition 38 and hence close to the end wall I2.

In the form here specifically disclosed a ramp 42 having an outer upstanding rim 44 is secured on the outer surface of the side wall I6 by means of nails or other securing devices 46 (see Figs. 4 and 5), said ramp 42 being downwardly inclined with its upper end alongside the large aperture 40 and, as here specifically disclosed, with its lower end adjacent the end wall Il) and substantially at the bottom level of the enclosure 2. A stop in the form of a peg 48 extends upwardly from the ramp 42 near its bottom end so as to prevent the balls 8, as they roll down the ramp 42, from rolling 01T therefrom.

In the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 6 the ramp 42 is provided with an extension 5D, that extension having raised edges 52 on either side thereof and being connected by means of hinges 54 to the lower end of the ramp 42. In this embodiment the peg 48 is positioned near the free end of the ramp extension 50. When in use the extension 50 will assume a substantially horizontal position as illustrated in straight lines in Fig. 6 and when not in use the extension 5I) is pivotable to a housed position overlying the ramp 42 and substantially coincident therewith, as illustrated by the broken lines in Fig. 6.

The manner of operation of the device will, to a trained mechanic, be fully apparent from the above description but it must be borne in mind that simple though the operation is, it presents a real challenge to youthful minds. Indeed, the presentation to such minds of any more complex operability would defeat its own purpose, since the child would -be so bailled as to be frustrated, and hence he would not play with the toy. Experience has demonstrated that the particular arrangement above described has suicient simplicity to interest a child even as young as one year of age yet has sufiicient complexity to interest and educate children even of more advanced years.

Because of the spherical nature of the balls 8 and because they are somewhat larger in size than the apertures 6, those balls 8 can very readily be placed in the apertures 6 even by very young infants, the balls assuming the position illustrated by the right hand ball in Fig. 3, it being understood that because of its shape the ball 8 will center itself in the aperture 6 even if the child does not properly initially position it. Thereafter, when the ball 8 is forced through the aperture 6, as by use of the hammer 9, its own resiliency will permit it to be compressed, as illustrated by the left hand ball in Fig. 3, and as Vwill roll therea-long toward the end wall accuses a result it may be readily -forced through the aperture 6 without having to use a heavy hammer Ail and without engenderingsuch friction between its outer surfaces and the inner surface lof the aperture 6 as to cause either 'the ball 8 or the lthrough the aperture `3 it will drop from the top wall and, when the walls of the enclosure "2 are of opaque material, will `become invisible. The ball will fall onto the inclined partition 38 and I2. When it comes opposite the large aperture 40 the inclination of the partition 36 downwardly l toward the side wall I6 in which the aperture 40 is positioned will cause the ball 8 to roll out through aperture 40, the size of said aperture 4E! permitting it to do so. It is not until the `ball comes opposite the aperture 46 that it once again becomes visible, and it Yis only after -it has rolled out through the aperture 40 onto the ramp 42 that it becomes fully visible. The length of time during which the ball 8 is invisible will depend upon the spacing from the aperture 4l] laterally along the enclosure 2 ofthe aperture 6 through which the ball il has been forced. When the ball 8 is forced through the right hand aperture 6 it will become visible through the aperture 40 almost immediately, when it is forced through the left hand aperture 6 it will not become visible for some time, and'when it is forced through any of the intermediate apertures 6 the duration of invisibility 'will be correspondingly varied.

The use of rubber balls has a very important additional advantage when taken in conjunction,

with the interest and mystery imparted 'by the invisibility feature. In the 'rst place, the fall of a soft rubber ball onto the partition 38 will not be accompanied by an appreciable noise, and hence the mystery of the inner workings ofthe apparatus will be heightened. Moreover, the unpredictable manner of bouncing of rubber balls will vary the duration of invisibility from time to time even when the same aperture 6 is employed.

VWhen -the balls 8 roll onto the ramp 42 they will roll down that ram-p, thus lending to the toy an element of visible motion which is most appealing to the children of theage group which will use the toy. The use of the peg 48 prevents the balls 8 from rolling away from the 'apparatus and along the floor fof the room, instead 4'retaining the balls 8 in a position such that they can'readily-be picked up and replaced on the apertures 6. Indeed, the fact that when a number of balls are used they will line themselves up along the'ramp 42, as illustrated in Fig. l, provides an added feature of entertainment and enjoyment.

The variousparts of the toy cooperate to define a vdevice which provides amusement to entertain,

mystery to pique the interest, manipulation to 41. AA hammer toy comprising an enclosure having top, side-and end walls, said vtop wall having a restricted aperture therethrough, a rollable member adapted to pass through said top Wall via said restricted aperture and of a size such -as to have a iricti'onalitin said restricted aperture so that ritn'1'u.st be forced therethrough 4as by hammering, ja partition in said enclosure under said aperture and inclined downwardly toward a wall of said enclosure, said wall having a large aperture alongside said partition adjacent its lowest point and of a size such that said rollable member will pass freely therethrough, and a ramp on the outside of said wall 'alongside 'said large aperture and inclined downwardly therefrom, whereby said rollable member, when hammered through said top wall via said restricted aperture, will fall inside said enclosure, roll along said partition, pass through said large aperture and roll along said ramp.

2. In the hammer toy of claim 1, a stop on said ramp for preventing said rollable member -from rolling off said ramp.

3. The hammer toy of claim l in whichsaid ramp comprises a downwardly inclined portion secured to said wall and extending substantially to the bottom level of said enclosure, and an eX- tension portion hinged thereto so as to be movable between a housed position alongside said wall and overlying said inclined ramp portion and an operative substantially horizontal position extending from and constituting an extension of said inclined ramp portion.

4. VIn the hammer toy of claim 3, a stop on said ramp extension portion for preventing said rollable member from rolling off said ramp eX- tension portion. y

5. The hammer toy of claim l, in which said rollable member comprises a rubber spherehaving a diameter somewhat greater than the diameter of said restricted aperture but somewhat less than the diameter of saidlarge aperture, said sphere thereby Ybeing readily contractible as it is hammered'through said restricted aperture so as to reduce the frictional forces incident'upon its passage therethrough.

6. The hammer toy of claim 1, in which said restricted aperture is spaced laterally along said `enclosure from said large aperture, lso that atime 'interval 'will elapse between the time that the rollable member passes through said lrestricted aperture and the time that it rolls through said large aperture.

7. The hammer toy of claim 1 in which said top wall is provided with a pluralityof restricted Aapertures spaced therealong, said partition extending under each of said apertures, said restricted apertures thus being diierently spaced from said large aperture so that the time interval between passage of the rollable member into the enclosure through said restricted aperture and its Vrolling through said large aperture will 'vary depending upon the particular restricted Vundersaid aperture inclined downwardly toward a side wall and an end wall thereof, said side wall having a large aperture therein adjacent said "end wall and alongside said partition adjacent its lowest point, said aperture being of a size such that said rollable member `will l'pass freely therethrough, and aramp on the outside of 'said side wall alongsidesaidlarge aperture andinclinedfd'ownwardly therefrom, whereby said rollassdeos able member, when hammered through said top wall via said restricted aperture, will disappear inside said enclosure, roll along said partition, pass through said large aperture and reappear, and roll along said ramp.

9. In the hammer toy of claim 8, a stop on said ramp for preventing said rollable members from rolling off said ramp.

10. The hammer toy of claim 8 in which said ramp comprises a downwardly inclined portion secured to said wall and extending substantially to the bottom level of said enclosure, and an extension portion hinged thereto so as to be movable between a housed position alongside said wall and overlying said inclined ramp portion and an operative substantially horizontal position extending from and constituting an extension of said inclined ramp portion.

ll. In the hammer toy of claim l0, a stop on said ramp extension portion for preventing said rollable member from rolling oif said ramp extension portion.

l2. The hammer toy of claim 8, in which said rollable member comprises a rubber sphere having a diameter somewhat greater than the diameter of said restricted aperture but somewhat less than the diameter of said large aperture, said sphere thereby being readily contractable as it is hammered through said restricted aperture so as to reduce the frictional forces incident upon its passage therethrough.

13. The hammer toy of claim 8, in which said restricted aperture is spaced laterally along said enclosure from said large aperture, so that a time interval will elapse between the time that the rollable member disappears into said restricted aperture and the time that it reappears through said large aperture.

14. The hammer toy of claim 8 in which said top wall is provided with a plurality of restricted apertures spaced therealong, said partition extending under each of said apertures, said restricted apertures thus being differently spaced from said large aperture so that the time interval between disappearance of the rollable member into the enclosure through said restricted aperture and its reappearance through said large aperture will vary depending upon the particular restricted aperture through which the rollable through, a ball adapted to pass through said top wall via any one of said restricted apertures and of a size such as to have a frictional t in said restricted apertures so that it must be forced therethrough as by hammering, a pair of opposite walls of said enclosure having grooves in the inner surfaces thereof inclined downwardly in the same direction, one groove being higher than the other, a partition supported in said grooves and thus being inclined downwardly toward one of said side walls and one of said end walls, said one of said side walls having a large aperture alongside said partition adjacent its lowest point and near said one of said end walls, said large aperture being of a size such that said rollable member will pass freely therethrough, a ramp on the outside of said one of said side walls alongside said aperture and inclined downwardly therefrom so as to extend substantially to the bottom level of said enclosure adjacent said other of said end Walls, and a stop on said ramp adjacent its lower end for preventing said ball from rolling off said ramp.

16. The hammer toy of claim 15, in which said ball is made of rubber.

17. A hammer toy comprising an enclosure having opaque top, side and end walls, said top wall having a restricted aperture therethrough, a rollable member adapted to pass through said top wall via said restricted aperture and of a size as to have a frictional flt in said restricted aperture so that it must be forced therethrough as by hammering, a partition in said enclosure under said aperture inclined downwardly toward a side wall and an end wall thereof, said side wall having a large aperture therein adjacent said end wall and alongside said partition adjacent its lowest point, said aperture being of a size such that said rollable member will pass freely therethrough, a ramp on the outside of said side wall alongside said large aperture, and inclined downwardly therefrom, a ramp extension hinged t0 the lower end of said ramp so as to be movable between a housed position alongside said one of said side walls and overlying said ramp and an operative substantially horizontal position extending from and constituting an extension of said ramp, and a stop on said ramp extension adjacent the free end thereof, whereby said rollable member, when hammered through said top wall via said restricted aperture, will disappear inside said enclosure, roll along said partition, pass through said large aperture and reappear and roll along said ramp and said ramp extension up to said stop.

18. A hammer toy comprising an enclosure having top, side and end walls, said top wall having a plurality of restricted apertures spaced therealong, a rollable member adapted to pass through said top wall via one of said restricted apertures and of a size such as to have a frictional fit in a restricted aperture so that it must be forced therethrough as by hammering, a partition in said enclosure extending under each of said apertures and inclined downwardly toward a Wall of said enclosure, said wall having a large aperture alongside said partition adjacent its lowest point and of a size such that said rollable member will pass freely therethrough, said restricted apertures being differently spaced from said large aperture, whereby said rollable member, when hammered through said top wall via a restricted aperture, will fall inside said enclosure, roll along said partition, and pass through said large aperture, the time interval between passage of the rollable member into the enclosure through a restricted aperture and its rolling through said large aperture varying depending upon the particular restricted aperture through which the rollable member is hammered.

19. A hammer toy comprising an enclosure having opaque top, side and end walls, said top wall having a restricted aperture therethrough, a rollable member adapted to pass through said top wall via said restricted aperture and of a size such as to have a frictional i'lt in said restricted aperture so that it must be forced therethrough as by hammering, and a partition in said enclosure under said aperture inclined downwardly toward a side wall and an end wall thereof, said side wall having a large aperture therein adjacent said end wall and alongside said partition adjacent its lowest point, said aperture being of a size such that said rollable member will pass freely therethrough, whereby said rollable member, when hammered through said top Wall Via said restricted aperture, will disappear inside said enclosure, roll along said partition, pass through said large aperture and reappear.

20. The hammer toy of claim 19 in which said top Wall is provided with a plurality of restricted 5 apertures spaced therealong, said partition eX- tending under each of said apertures, said restricted apertures thus being diierently spaced from said large aperture so that the time inter- 10 Val between disappearance of the rollable member into the enclosure through a restricted aperture and its reappearance through said large aperture will Vary depending upon the particular 10 restricted aperture through which the rollable member is hammered.

JOI-IN MORRISON.

REFERENCES CTED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 408,635 Sommer Aug. 6, 1889 1,596,947 Russel Aug. 24, 1926 2,197,976 Fletcher Apr. 23, 1940 2,426,326 Tooms Aug. 26, 1947 

